Retraining Balance With General Activities versus Specific Activities
Trying to make sense of training methods for compromised balance. It becomes complex, and this may just scratch the surface of a what I suspect it is a broader debate.
Introduction
We are primarily concerned with the issue of retraining balance in compromised individuals. Balance can be viewed as a meta-skill, pervasive in most activities. While balance has a significant neurological component, it also depends on multiple bodily systems functioning optimally.
Balance and Its Multisystem Nature
Balance is not merely a neurological function; it involves the coordinated effort of various body systems. Improving balance through conditioning impacts a wide array of bodily functions:
Skeletal system: Provides the framework and structural support necessary for movement.
Skin: Acts as a sensory organ, contributing to proprioception.
Myofascia: Includes muscles, crucial for movement and stability.
Circulatory system: Supplies oxygen and nutrients essential for muscle and brain function.
Lungs: Ensure adequate oxygenation of the blood.
Heart: Pumps blood throughout the body, supporting endurance and strength.
Mitochondria: Powerhouses of cells, vital for energy production.
Metabolic aspects: Overall metabolism affects energy levels and physical performance.
Lymphatic system: Helps in the removal of waste products and supports immune function.
Glymphatic system: Clears waste from the central nervous system, influencing cognitive and motor functions.
Nervous system: Integral for coordinating movements and maintaining balance.
Other aspects: Various other systems and components contribute to overall physical health and balance.
Training Objectives
Training to improve balance encompasses multiple aspects:
Strength: Enhances muscle power and stability.
Endurance: Allows sustained physical activity.
Wind (VO2 Max): Improves oxygen utilization and cardiovascular efficiency.
Flexibility: Increases the range of motion and reduces the risk of injury.
Agility: Enhances the ability to move quickly and change direction effectively.
Coordination: Ensures smooth and efficient movements.
Additional Positive Effects of Training
Beyond balance, training can positively affect:
Amount of Brown Adipose tissue: Increases metabolic activity.
Amount of Adipose tissue: Reduces overall body fat.
Visceral fat: Decreases fat around internal organs, improving metabolic health.
Metabolic health: Enhances overall metabolic efficiency.
Mitochondrial function: Boosts cellular energy production.
The Role of Perceptual/Motor Control
Even with optimal conditioning, it is the perceptual/motor control that ultimately drives movement and activity. This highlights the importance of integrating both general and specific training to enhance overall functional performance.
Specificity of Training
The concept of specificity in training asserts that training should closely match the desired performance outcome. Specificity means that the training exercises and drills should mimic the movements, conditions, and contexts of the actual performance as closely as possible.
Defining Specificity
Specificity: Refers to how closely training activities mimic the actual task or performance.
General Training: Involves exercises that improve overall fitness and body conditioning but are not tailored to a specific skill.
Specific Training: Involves exercises that directly replicate the movements and conditions of the target skill.
Research on Specificity
Supporting Specificity: Studies show that training activities closely related to the target skill yield better performance improvements in that skill.
Contradicting Specificity: Some research suggests that generalized training can still enhance specific skills by improving overall physical capacity and motor control.
General vs. Specific Training in Retraining Balance
The debate centers on whether general training improves balance in specific contexts. General training often involves exercises that enhance overall physical fitness, while specific training focuses on precise skills needed in real-world scenarios.
Challenges with General Training
General training may not always result in significant skill transfer to specific real-world tasks because the conditions and movements may differ. However, general training can improve underlying physical capacities that support a wide range of activities.
Examples from Martial Arts
In Eastern martial arts, formal drills often differ from real-world applications. Even drills that closely match actual combat scenarios remain abstract versions of the real thing due to differences in context, perception, timing, and angles. Real-world situations are highly variable, and training can only approximate a subset of these scenarios.
General vs. Specific Training and Skill Transfer
General and Abstract Training: Involves exercises that improve broad physical capacities.
Specific and Concrete Training: Involves exercises that closely replicate the target skill.
The extent of skill transfer from general to specific training depends on the similarity between the training exercises and the actual performance tasks. General training can enhance overall physical abilities, while specific training hones particular skills.
Implications for Retraining Balance Skills
For rehabilitative purposes, both general and specific training are crucial. General training improves overall physical health and capacity, while specific training hones balance skills required in daily activities. The research indicates that generalized balance training can indeed enhance specific abilities by building a foundation of strength, endurance, flexibility, agility, and coordination, which can then be applied to specific balance tasks.
Conclusion
To effectively retrain balance in compromised individuals, a combination of general and specific training is essential. General training builds the necessary physical foundation, while specific training ensures the transfer of these improvements to real-world balance tasks. This integrated approach maximizes the potential for rehabilitation and functional improvement.